Spectre
Summary The Spectre is a hard-level builder, who relies on powerful units that do its bidding, and with the ability to move its units around using a drop ship, the Spectre is a master of precise and quick squadron attacks against the Titan, and is able to evacuate to safety at a moment's notice. Information originally collected by Seryth (Today known as TiredGuy) The Spectre The Spectre is very well-rounded for what he does. He has a couple abilities up his sleeve, both very useful if used in a timely fashion. Stinger Grenade Slows the titan in an area of 3 by 2.4 move speed G4 Charge A timed charge that detonates in an area of 3 for 500 damage (There is a 3 second timer on it, so wait for the right timing to use it) Here is a picture of it: His Stinger Grenade is used mainly to slow down the titan, rather giving himself a speed boost. Very handy in tight situations when running from the titan. The G4 charge is used to add more damage against the titan, or a defence mechanism to defend against the Infested Terran and Ghouls. However you use it, is up to you. Building Section Starport - 50 wood Allows production of miners (Your workers) Allows production of Cargo Trucks (Mobile drop off points, more on this later) Allows production of the Special Ops Dropship (More on this later) Allows production of the Hercules (More on this later) Also has research for the following: =Research (Starport) = G4 Charge - 500 wood Does damage of 500 in Area of Effect (AoE) Phase II / Phase III Operations (1500 wood + 10 gold for Phase II)(3000 wood, 40 gold for Phase III) Increases supply cap by 50 (Maximum cap of 150, like all other builders) Unlocks certain research along the way Munitions Dump - 500 wood Allows good upgrades for basic troops The list is as such: Research (Munitions Dump) Gauss Rifle Refit - 750 wood, 5 gold War Pigs gain +1 range and +10 to damage Starlight Engines - 750 wood, Requires Phase II Operations Increases the move speed of the Special Ops Dropshit and Hercules by 1 Recon Equipment - 1000 wood, 10 gold, Requires Phase II Operations Vultures gain DETECTION Light-weight Auto Turrets - 500 wood, 5 gold, Requires Phase II Operations Hammerhead Securities' Auto-fappers wood cost decreases from 150 to 75 Harvester Survival Training - 1500 wood (3 Levels) All miners will gain 75 hp per level Advanced Research Center (ARC) - 2000 wood, 30 gold Allows more advanced research of all of his troops This list is as such: Research (ARC) Targeting Override '''- 2500 wood, 35 gold, Requires Phase III Operations The Spartan Company Goliath gain additional weapons, adding two attacks, each adding damage of 125 per attack '''Frictionless Skimmers - 750 wood, 10 gold, Requires Phase III Operations Vultures gain an additional 0.5 move speed Solid Tungsten Core - 1000 wood, 15 gold, Requires Phase III Operations Warpig's damage is reduced by 10 but given armor piercing rounds Argus Reactor - 1250 wood, 25 gold, Requires Phase III Operations Diamondbacks are given an additional 1 move speed Enhanced Gauss Accelerator - 1000 wood, 15 gold, Requires Phase III Operations All auto-turrets deployed have increased attack speed of 0.25 (And any turrets deployed after this upgrade) The following units are made the Starport Miner '(Free, 3 supply) - Self-explanatory '''Cargo Truck '(100 wood, 1 supply) - Serves as a mobile drop-off point (Think of it as a moving command center). They can also load miners inside, so you can move your gathering team around the map (very handy) 'Special Ops Dropship '(750 wood, requires no supply, limit of 1 out at a time)- A dropship that can produce the following units: War Pig, Hammerhead Security and the Vulture '''Hercules (1500 wood, 25 gold, requires no supply, limit of 1 out at a time)- A much larger dropship, capable of producing the strongest army the Spectre has to offer. It also has rapid deployment, so units can go in and out of the Hercules at will. Allows production of: Diamondback, Spartan Company Goliath Special Ops Dropship The following can be produced from the Special Ops Dropship War Pig 150 wood, 3 supply A basic ranged infantry unit, much like a marine in league matches *Health: 200 *Armor: 5 *Range: 5 *Attack Speed: 1 *Move Speed: 3.25 *Damage: 20 This unit can be affected by the following upgrades (Stated in the buildings section, under Munitions Dump and ARC): *Gauss Rifle Re-fit *Solid Tungsten Core Hammerhead Security 300 wood, 6 supply, requires Phase II Operations Also ranged infantry, but can pack a heavier punch in the early stages of the game. Has the ability to deploy auto-turrets *Health: 400 *Armor: 10 *Range: 4 *Attack Speed: 1.75 *Move Speed: 3.25 *Damage: 50 The following abilities will affect the Hammerhead Securities' auto-turrets (Stated in the buildings section, under Munitions Dump and ARC): *Light-weight Auto-turrets *Enhanced Gauss Accelerator Vulture 300 wood, 6 supply, requires Phase II Operations A vulture is... well... a vulture, a mechanical hover bike capable of deploying mines *Health: 300 *Armor: 5 *Range: 5 *Attack Speed: 1 *Move Speed: 3.25 *Damage: 25 The following abilities will affect the Vulture (Stated in the buildings section, under Munitions Dump and ARC): *Recon Equipment *Frictionless Skimmers Hercules The following can be made and produced from the Hercules Diamondback 500 wood, 5 gold, 10 supply A mobile weapons platform equipped with dual compressed coil guns (I think that's what they are, since the turret DOES NOT LOOK LIKE a rail gun) *Health: 500 *Armor: 15 *Attack Speed: 1.5 *Range: 6 *Move Speed: 3.75 *Damage: 75 The following abilities affect the Diamondback: *Argus Reactor Spartan Company Goliath 750 wood, 10 gold, 15 supply A very beefy motherf**ker. A very painful unit to a titan, but also pricy for your resource quota. *Health: 1000 *Armor: 15 *Attack Speed: 1.25 *Range: 6 *Move Speed: 3.75 *Damage: 100 The following research will affect the Spartan Company Goliath: *Targeting Override Before Reading any further, the following parts are mainly DEFENSIVE play. Offensive play is stated in the Tips & Tricks Section. The Early Game You spawned. Good job, you're now a spectre. What should you do at a time like this? Make a wood base. Where, you ask? Anywhere, basically. But here's a spot most spectre players use (I suggest finding your own spot) Remember: You can place your starport very close to the trees. Look at this picture below to see how that works. The First Steps You're a Spectre, a support builder with a damn good army. Sadly, budget is a bit tight right now, so the best you can do is STEAL said budget. Gold will be your objective in the first three minutes of the game, in any game. Note: Your finger will ALWAYS BE OVER THE STINGER GRENADE HOTKEY, which is T. At this time, you have access to VERY FEW upgrades and research, so don't worry about them for now. For now, you just gold. If you have finished making the mobile cargo trucks, detonate the Starport. It will act as your 'wall' when you are running from a very persistent titan.Once you've gotten your wood base going, and a couple trucks, load about 6-10 miners in each truck, and spread em across the map. This makes the Spectre very mobile and versatile. When a titan attacks a nearby base close to one truck, load up the workers, move somewhere else. Here's a couple pictures displaying some places you could wood at with trucks: Note: If you get a Special Ops Dropship, you can place these trucks, which have workers in them, on cliffs. Similar to the reaper, it would save you a lot of hassle from moving so much. But do be weary if a titan starts nuking the crap outta them, there is literally nothing you can do except to detonate the workers. After a while, you've grabbed some gold. What should I do with the gold I acquired? Your goal of the early game, is to snag 20 gold from the middle node in the map. If you can manage this, you're pretty much set. But of course, aim for as high as possible when golding. Once you hit the required amount of wood and gold, start research Phase II Operations at your Starport. Second, if wood permits, build the munitions dump as a wall close to the gold. After that finishes, start researching Recon Equipment. Spider Mines are the way to go. After getting all this research done, and you got Recon Equipment, head to a base. ANY base. Preferably a base that actually holds. Start spreading mines at the entrance. After that, prep a G4 charge when the titan starts sieging, place it in front of him, and he'll get a face full of shrapnel. If he tries to run, throw a Stinger Grenade in front when he runs. The game is yours without much work. Easy eh? = The Mid Game = Well, well. The titan isn't a complete dumbass. He's smart enough to nuke your mines. You'll still keep placing them, but you'll need to spread em out a bit, to make him waste time and energy to kill them. He will if he's afraid of even one mine. If you have no gold to spare, you're only trump card is known as turret walling. You'll place two Hammerhead Securities on either side of the entrance. And you'll have your finger of the T hotkey, which is your auto-turrets. You will be the silent hunter, and wait for the right time. Your goal this time, is to be the main cause of the titan's death, as you will drop turrets right behind his ass if he's not attentive. Once again, keep your finger over the Stinger and G4 charge hotkeys, as they can be the tie-breaker of all games. Here's another example, but with a path that can be blocked by one turret: = The Late Game = Holy Shit. Must be one heck of a game if you've made it this far. There isn't much you can do, unless you have spare gold, or an army that can chase titans. But here are some options: If you got an army: Leave your spectre in the base if you're no confident, but if you are, bring him along. If you have them, War Pigs, Vultures, and Hammerheads. Head towards the gold, if there is a camping mini. If not, your best bet is to do what you do in Mid-game: Be the cause indirectly. Otherwise: - Place mines at one of the entrances - Have a couple turrets out, for extra DPS - Lure with a vulture, and see if it's dumb enough to run into the mines After that, pummel at the titan, having the Hammerheads tank. Profit: +1000 wood and 20 gold. That means you get two Diamondbacks! Or 2 Spartans, if you got the wood for them Other than that, after bonus gold, get yourself a Hercules, pump out either Diamondbacks or Spartans, take your pick. Max the supply cap, and bumrush. Your units are either: A: Diamondbacks, too fast for the titan to chase B: Spartans: Tanky enough to only lose one or two, if he's dumb Note: Keep the Spartans with backup. They die more easily. = The Spectre's Tips & Tricks = The Stinger Grenade The Stinger Grenade is what will prevent the titan from killing other builders, and yourself. A very valuable tool. The picture to the right shows the radius of your throwing distance, along with radius of the actual AoE of the grenade: The picture to the right shows the radius of the stinger grenade compared to the titan: Here is a video of how a typical spectre player throws his grenade to save himself and his buddies: The Stinger Grenade (Vs. Immortal) As we all know, Immortals a huge pain in the ass, as the Graviton Lift basically negates ANY panic buttons (Stingers, Stim packs, Charge, etc.) The only way to avoid this is the following: A. Run to a juke in a straight line Note: You can use the Munitions Dump as a wall too. You just need to place it where you won't get obstructed, but the titan will be B. Wait until he nukes you, THEN use the stinger grenade. If he decides to chase you until you're down to a little more than half health, you're basically fucked. Unless a DT SOMEHOW cloaks you out of the blue before that nuke comes, god help you. (Assuming you believe in god) The G4 Charge As explained in the early parts of this guide, it is used for high DPS. Now you wonder what else it could be used for. IT CAN BE USED TO PREVENT INFESTED TERRAN, AND GHOULS!!!!!! If the Infestor spawns the IT's, throw the G4 in the bulk of the crowd, and watch them go BOOM! See those ghouls? Huck a stinger if you so please (They're as fast as the titan). Then chuck the G4 charge in their frontal general direction. Say good-bye to them ghouls! But of course, only do these tactics if there is no Predator or Hellion. The Stalker needs a bit help, since it's a single target shooter. The Turret Trap This little trap is explained in the Mid Game Section The LOLPigs This little cheese is very over powered if done right. All you do get Phase II Operations, Gauss Rifle Refit, and a shit ton of War Pigs. All you have to do is micro the war pigs to the titan, and blast away. Make sure to avoid nukes though. Otherwise, the game is yours The Hammerhead Security Rape (AHAHAHAHAA) (Horrible pun is horrible) This one I'm not exactly sure about, but it still does quite well in early game. Only research you require is Operations Phase II, perhaps Light-weight Auto-turrets to save on wood, in case this fails. Other than that, shoot some shrapnel into that titan's VERY FAT ARSE and this will be all over... The Spider Mine Quicksand It's quick, it's fast, it flippin' hurts like a piece of bamboo being smacked across your face. All you need Operations Phase II, Vultures and Recon Equipment. Lay down spider mines. Bait. Profit. GAME OVER This part is also used as part of the strategy in the Late Game section Note: If the titan isn't an Immortal with AT LEAST level 1 Hardened Shields, it is basically a guaranteed kill at any titan level 6 or lower (Maybe even level 7 or 8, if the titan is dumb enough) The Diamondback Roadrunner I call it this because that's how I see it. This little strategy requires Phase III Operations, a full mass of Diamondbacks, and the upgrade Argus Reactor. All you need to do is micro the Diamondbacks, staying out of range of his attacks, and just kill him with your pew pew lasers. That's right, I said pew pew. Problem? The Spartan Smash You don't have to go off these terms, I just call 'em this way. This little strategy is similar to the Diamondback Roadrunner, but with Spartan Company Goliaths. This one costs a lot more in wood and gold, but is a shit ton more powerful. You'll want Operations Phase III, Targeting Override, and of course, Spartans The Turret Base! This little strategy is simple: Use your turrets as towers! Just have a sentry help you wall and you have yourself a nice little base! Sure, you can only have a limit of 30 turrets, but it's almost as good as a T2 Marine base. Nice to have around when no baser is available or you need to make a quick temporary one, until an actual baser replaces your turrets with towers. Category:Builder